Catch up

Hey folks, it's been a few days. I've gotten busier and, ironically, getting internet access at home has made me lazier about writing blogs. Something about having a computer but no internet was inspiring, like I had nothing else to do, so I'd write. Here's what comes to mind about the last few days:

A. Telephone bureaucracy. Olya, Galina's daughter, and I went to Telekom the other day to sign up for DSL service at home. As it turns out, our telephone is still registered in Galina's mother's name, but Galya's mom has been dead for 10 years! So I have to wait till Olya re-registers the phone in her own name, then we can sign up for DSL. In the meantime I'm going retro: dial-up from a prepaid internet card. It's a lot cheaper than at the internet cafes, but the connection is pretty lame. I probably won't be posting any pictures until I get a more stable and speedy connection.

B. University done Russian-style. My classes started Monday, and everything with my core classes is so far going fine (although I already don't feel like doing my homework, haha). I'm getting readjusted to the Russian method of teaching, which involves a lot more lecture, even in such subjects as Oral Speech, where one would assume we'd have to talk at least a little bit in an hour and a half. Maybe it'll get better as we get into the semester.

In other University done Russian-style news, Saint Petersburg State starts with a few more heaves and gasps than the University of Iowa. Each of us Flagshippers is required to audit a course with Russian students, like a real content course. Theoretically, school started yesterday for all the Russians too, but even as of the first day of school, the course list is not finalized. So a few of us showed up to "Russian Foreign Policy" last night, and it turned out the class doesn't start till next week. Dang. I walked an extra hour and a half in heels. In the rain. For a class that no one bothered to tell us doesn't start till next week.

Today I sat in on "Problems in International Relations and Conflicts." Since it was the first day, all we did was hear the Russian students introduce themselves and then get an overview of the topics that will be covered in the course (a TON of material, and lots of reading. Glad I'm just auditing!). It's interesting to see the little differences between Russian and American classes. For one thing, while Americans write notes to each other during class if they want to communicate, Russians just talk, and often not even very quietly. For another, where an American teacher would hand out a syllabus, our Russian teacher just read us the topics and the questions for each topic (which for me means I have a haphazard and incomplete list, as I did not write fast enough or understand every word she said). I'm still going to sit in on that Foreign Policy class next Monday; we'll have to see which one I like better. The Tuesday class is at a better time, 3:30, but it's three hours long, whereas the Monday class is only an hour and a half, but starts at 7:30 PM, meaning I either stay at the university until pretty late or spend a lot more time in transit between school and home.

C. I need shoe repair terminology. Once I get that terminology, I need to find the nearest shoe repair shop. They have them everywhere here, so it shouldn't be a problem.

D. Anya and I went to Peterhoff on Saturday, where there's a big palace, lots of fountains made of gold, and a really beautiful park/garden. We got all the way there before I remembered/realized that I didn't yet have my Russian student ID (got it today, whew!). As you may or may not know, Russia has a tiered pricing system for museums, theatres, etc. The same applies at Peterhoff. The Russian student price: 50 rubles. The regular Russian price: 150 rubles. The foreigner price: 300 rubles. Yikes. Even for golden fountains, I wasn't about to pay 300 rubles. Having lived in Russia before, I know how this works: I just had Anya go through two different lines and buy two student tickets with her student ID. But then when we got to the gate to give our tickets to the grumpy lady, she asked to see our IDs. I told her I didn't have mine with me, and she told me in no uncertain terms to go buy a full-price ticket. Guess what we did instead? We walked about a kilometer down the way to a secondary entrance with a much less grumpy lady, who merely asked if our IDs were still current, and didn't make us actually show them. We were in! Haha, I love Russia.

E. The remodeling on my room was finally completed on Friday, so I'm all settled into my permanent location now. I like it; I have a lot of plants and a shiny new ceiling. The only thing is it seems like the coldest room in the apartment. Hopefully this won't be a problem once the heat gets turned on.

Okay, at the moment I can't think of anything else. If there's anything in particular you're curious about or would like me to talk about, leave me a comment and I'll be happy to oblige.